Rush Limbaugh Directs Juvenile, Anti-Gay Joke at Rep. Barney Frank

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Only seven days into the New Year, nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh is already starting 2009 off on the wrong foot. On his Jan. 7 show, Limbaugh refers to openly gay politician and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) as the "Banking Queen" in an uncalled for remark that makes Frank's sexual orientation into a sophomoric joke.
This is followed by an entire parody song, titled "Banking Queen," featuring comedian and frequent contributor to The Rush Limbaugh Show Paul Shanklin impersonating Frank.
From Media Matters for America:

LIMBAUGH: Well, it certainly was the way the subprime mortgage thing went down. It certainly was the way Congress was in charge of telling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac what to do. Barney Frank leading the way, folks -- he was, and is, the "Banking Queen."

[begin audio clip]

You can build
You can buy
Any house your heart desires
Zero down
Financing
I am the banking queen

Friday night and your cash is low
I know a place that you can go
Get your house and use it
Go ahead abuse it
You can do anything

Go out and have a fling
I am the banking queen
Old and sweet
Go ahead and do our thing
Banking queen
Don't complain
Or you'll hear me scream, oh yeah

You can build
You can buy
Any house your heart desires
Zero down
Financing
I am the banking queen

Told the bankers: Hey, you guys
Make the loans or you'll be fined
My friends at Fannie sure need it
Do it my way or beat it
While the stock's crashing

That doesn't mean a thing
I'm still the banking queen
Never spanked for a single thing
Banking queen
Don't complain
Or you'll hear me scream, oh yeah

You can build
You can buy
Any house your heart desires
Zero down
Financing
I am the banking queen

[end audio clip]

Although Limbaugh may have avoided inclusion on GLAAD's recently released list of the worst anti-gay and anti-transgender voices of 2008, juvenile jabs and outright attacks against the LGBT community are nothing new for the radio host. In 2007, Limbaugh made GLAAD's annual list of the worst anti-LGBT voices of the year, by referring to sex reassignment surgery procedures as the "add-a-dick-to-me" and "chop-a-dick-off-a-me" in a dehumanizing on-air rant against transgender people. GLAAD has also condemned Limbaugh for his crude comments about gay and African American voters last June. And in August 2008, Limbaugh made a similar joke about the popular, openly lesbian political commentator Rachel Maddow, suggesting that Dan Abrams was "losing his show to somebody with more testosterone than he has." Limbaugh's radio show has an estimated audience of nearly 13.5 million weekly listeners, and all of them hear this anti-LGBT rhetoric when they tune in to his program. GLAAD urges you to write to Clear Channel Communications and its CEO Mark Mays and respond to Limbaugh's latest anti-gay joke directed at Rep. Frank. Ask Mays to hold Limbaugh accountable for his remarks. You can email him here: markpmays@clearchannel.com